Mixed pad size and pad design

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a package and method of forming the package with a mixed pad size. The package includes a first set of pads having a first size and a first pitch, where the first set of pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads. The package also includes a second set of pads having a second size and a second pitch, where the second set of pads are non-solder mask defined (NSMD) pads.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to package devices, and morespecifically, but not exclusively, to mixed pad size and pad design fordevices and fabrication techniques thereof.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuit technology has achieved great strides in advancingcomputing power through miniaturization of active components. Theflip-chip devices can be found in many electronic devices, includingprocessors, servers, radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits, etc.Flip-chip packaging technology becomes cost-effective in high pin countdevices. The flip-chip bonding conventionally uses solder-on-pad (SOP)technology for flip-chip substrates.

Additionally, conventional flip-chip design uses either a uniform bumpsize across the whole chip or in some designs may define the differentbump size based on the die location in digital die designs. Recentlymore radio frequency (RF) products have moved to flip-chip designs.However, this transition of RF technology has made it difficult forconventional designs to meet new performance demands. For example, RFfront end (RFFE) footprint reduction is desired to support more bandsfor 5G applications. Board level reliability for RFFE devices has been amajor challenge as applied to double-sided ball grid array (BGA)packages with limited space for the BGA pattern using a conventionaluniform solder mask defined (SMD) BGA pad approach.

Accordingly, there is a need for systems, apparatuses and methods thatovercome the deficiencies of conventional package designs andfabrication processes including the methods, systems and apparatusesprovided according to the various aspects disclosed herein.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or moreaspects and/or examples associated with the apparatus and methodsdisclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not beconsidered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspectsand/or examples, nor should the following summary be regarded toidentify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspectsand/or examples or to delineate the scope associated with any particularaspect and/or example. Accordingly, the following summary has the solepurpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspectsand/or examples relating to the apparatus and methods disclosed hereinin a simplified form to precede the detailed description presentedbelow.

In accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein, at least oneaspect includes, an apparatus including a package. The package includinga first set of pads having a first size and a first pitch, where thefirst set of pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads. The apparatus alsoincludes a second set of pads having a second size and a second pitch,where the second set of pads are non-solder mask defined (NSMD) pads.

In accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein, at least oneaspect includes, a method for fabricating a package, the methodincluding: forming a first set of pads having a first size and a firstpitch, where the first set of pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads.The method also includes forming a second set of pads having a secondsize and a second pitch, where the second set of pads are non-soldermask defined (NSMD) pads.

Other features and advantages associated with the apparatus and methodsdisclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based onthe accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of aspects of the disclosure and many ofthe attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich are presented solely for illustration and not limitation of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of an interconnectionof a flip-chip device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partial image of a conventional design for apackage based on conventional design rules.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial image of a design for a package inaccordance with some examples of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a partial image of a design for a package inaccordance with some examples of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partial image of a design for a package inaccordance with some examples of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates components of an integrated device according to oneor more aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a packagein accordance with some examples of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary mobile device in accordance with someexamples of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates various electronic devices which may include a mixedpad size in accordance with various examples of the disclosure.

In accordance with common practice, the features depicted by thedrawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions of thedepicted features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Inaccordance with common practice, some of the drawings are simplified forclarity. Thus, the drawings may not depict all components of aparticular apparatus or method. Further, like reference numerals denotelike features throughout the specification and figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated in the followingdescription and related drawings directed to specific aspects. Alternateaspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the teachingsherein. Additionally, well-known elements of the illustrative aspectsherein may not be described in detail or may be omitted so as not toobscure the relevant details of the teachings in the present disclosure.

In certain described example implementations, instances are identifiedwhere various component structures and portions of operations can betaken from known, conventional techniques, and then arranged inaccordance with one or more exemplary aspects. In such instances,internal details of the known, conventional component structures and/orportions of operations may be omitted to help avoid potentialobfuscation of the concepts illustrated in the illustrative aspectsdisclosed herein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularaspects only and is not intended to be limiting As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presenceof stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It should be noted that the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variantthereof, mean any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect,between elements, and can encompass a presence of an intermediateelement between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” togethervia the intermediate element unless the connection is expresslydisclosed as being directly connected.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary partial side view of a flip-chip device100. As shown in FIG. 1, a flip-chip device 100 includes a package 110having a plurality of insulating layer (171 and 172) and metal layers(161, 162 and 163). The various metal layers 161, 162 and 163 can beinterconnected using vias, such as via 116. On a backside of the package110, a ball grid array (BGA) connection may include a BGA pad 130 and asolder ball 135 coupled to the BGA pad 130 through an opening in solderresist 132. The solder ball 135 can be used to connect to the flip-chipdevice 100 formed of die 120 (also referred to as “chip”) and package110 to external devices, circuitry, etc. The BGA pad 130 and the BGAconfiguration may be a mixed pad configuration according to variousaspects disclosed herein. Additional details regarding the mixed pad BGAconfiguration will be provided in the following disclosure. On the frontside of the package 110 is a bond pad 114, illustrated as a copper bondpad 114. A solder resist layer 112 is formed over the bond pad 114. Thesolder resist layer 112 can be a photosensitive polymer material havinga narrow opening to allow for connection to the bond pad 114.Solder-on-pad (SOP) 115 is provided to fill the opening to facilitateconnection to the bond pad 114 in later operations. The SOP 115 can beformed by a solder drop or can be printed with a solder paste and reflowprocess to fill the opening. As discussed above, the SOP is used toprevent voids in the interconnection of the package 110 to the die 120.The under bump metallization (UBM) 122 of the die 120 is used forconnecting the die 120 to the package 110 with solder bump 125 forflip-chip packages. The UBM 122 of the die 120 may be formed of aluminumor copper. It will be appreciated that although only one interconnectionbetween the die 120 and package 110 is illustrated, a plurality ofinterconnections are used for the flip-chip device 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partial image of a conventional design for apackage 200. As discussed above, current package designs use uniform BGApads 210 size and pitch 215 across the whole package 200. Additionally,in the conventional designs, the uniform BGA pads 210 use uniform soldermask defined (SMD) pad design.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial image of a package 300 based according tovarious aspects of the disclosure. In contrast to the conventionaldesigns, the package 300 is configured to have a mixed pad pitch and paddesign. In the illustrated example, a set of first BGA pads 310 may havea first pitch 315 and a first size (e.g., diameter). A set of second BGApads 320 may have a second pitch 325 and a second size (e.g., diameter).The first BGA pads 310 and second BGA pads 320 may be copper (Cu), orother conductive materials with high conductivity such as silver (Ag),gold (Au), aluminum (Al) and other like materials, alloys or combinationof materials. Further, it will be appreciated that the various aspectsare not limited to the illustrated patterns or to only two differentpitches or sizes, as additional pitches and sizes may be defined in someaspects.

It will be appreciated that the first BGA pads 310 are smaller in size(e.g., diameter) in comparison to the second of BGA pads 320. In someexamples, the second BGA pads 320 may be on the order of 10% to 100%larger than the first BGA pads 310. Likewise, the second pitch 325 willbe larger than the first pitch 315 and may be on the order of 10% to100% larger than the first pitch. It will be appreciated that there maybe a proportional increase in the pitch as the BGA pad size increases.However, various design considerations, such as pad density, pad to padspacing, bottom routing and signal integrity may impact the ultimatesize and pitch for a given design. Additionally the pad design may bedifferent for each of the first BGA pads 310 (e.g., SMD pad design) andsecond BGA pads 320 (e.g., non-solder mask defined (NSMD) pad design),as discussed in the following. It will be appreciated that the mixed padconfiguration according to the various aspects disclosed allow forvariations in at least one of pad size, location or pitch to provide forgreater design control. In some aspects, the first set of pads and thesecond set of pads are formed in a first metal layer of the package,which may be on a front side or a back side of the package of thepackage. The package, in some aspects, may include a plurality ofconductive layers and insulating layers. Further, it will be appreciatedthat the various aspects disclosed herein may be used in single sidedBGA packages and double-sided BGA packages.

It will be appreciated that the aforementioned aspects are merelyprovided as examples and the various aspects claimed are not limited tothe specific references and/or illustrations provided. For example, itwill be appreciated that the number, location and/or size of the BGApads 310 and 320 may be different than the illustrated examples and thatthese illustrations are provided merely to aid in the explanation of thevarious aspects disclose herein.

FIG.4 illustrates details of a SMD pad design according to variousaspects of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the solder resist410 has an overlay over a portion of the BGA pad 420. The solder resistopening (SRO) 412 is smaller than the BGA pad 420 and allows access tothe BGA pad 420 through the solder resist 410. Specifically, connectionstructure 430 is coupled to the BGA 420 during fabrication of thepackage. The connection structure 430 may be a solder ball or anysuitable conductive structure for forming an electrical connection. Itwill be appreciated that the solder resist 410 may be any suitablematerial such as epoxy, liquid photoimageable ink, dry filmphotoimageable solder mask, and the like. Further, as noted above, theBGA pad 420 may be copper (Cu), or other conductive materials with highconductivity such as silver (Ag), gold (Au), aluminum (Al) and otherlike materials, alloys or combination of materials. Further, it will beappreciated that the aforementioned aspects are merely provided asexamples and the various aspects claimed are not limited to the specificreferences and/or simplified illustrations provided.

FIG. 5 illustrates details of a NSMD pad design 500 according to variousaspects of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the solder resist510 has no overlay portion over the BGA pad 520. The solder resistopening (SRO) 512 is larger than the BGA pad 520. The SRO 512 allowsaccess to the BGA pad 520 through the solder resist 510, includingaccess to the sides of the BGA pad 520. Specifically, connectionstructure 530 is coupled to the BGA 520 during fabrication of thepackage and in some examples the connection structure 530 can makecontact with the entire bottom surface (surface facing the SRO 412) andsides of the BGA pad 520. In contrast to the SMD pad design illustratedin FIG. 4, where contact is only on a portion of the bottom surface ofthe BGA pad 420, since the SRO 412 is smaller than the BGA pad 420.

The connection structure 530 may be a solder ball or any suitableconductive structure for forming an electrical connection. Further, asnoted above, it will be appreciated that the solder resist 510 may beany suitable material such as epoxy, liquid photoimageable ink, dry filmphotoimageable solder mask, and the like. Likewise, the BGA pad 520 maybe copper (Cu), or other conductive materials with high conductivitysuch as silver (Ag), gold (Au), aluminum (Al) and other like materials,alloys or combination of materials. It will be appreciated that theseexamples are provided solely for illustration and the SRO 512 increasemay be greater or less than the example illustrated. Further, it will beappreciated that real world design constraints, such as minimum pitchspacing, number of BGA pads 520 used, fabrication limitations, etc., aredesign considerations that may impact the size, number, location, pitch,material, etc. of the various components illustrated.

FIG. 6 illustrates components of an integrated device 600 according toone or more aspects of the disclosure. Regardless of the variousconfigurations of the packages (e.g., package 300) discussed above, itwill be appreciated that the package 620 may be configured to couple thedie 610 to a PCB 690. The PCB 690 is also coupled to a power supply 680(e.g., a power management integrated circuit (PMIC)), which allows thepackage 620 and the die 610 to be electrically coupled to the PMIC 680.Specifically, one or more power supply (VDD) lines 691 and one or moreground (GND) lines 692 may be coupled to the PMIC 680 to distributepower to the PCB 690, package 620 via VDD BGA ball 625 and GND BGA ball627 and to the die 610 via die bumps 612. It will be appreciated thatmore BGA balls may be provided in addition the illustrated BGA balls 625and 627. Further, it will be appreciate that these BGA balls may beattached to a mixed pad in the package 620, according to one or moreaspects disclosed herein. The VDD line 691 and GND line 692 each may beformed from traces, shapes or patterns in one or more metal layers ofthe PCB 690 (e.g., layers 1-6) coupled by one or more vias throughinsulating layers separating the metal layers 1-6 in the PCB 690. ThePCB 690 may have one or more PCB capacitors (PCB cap) 695 that can beused to condition the power supply signals, as is known to those skilledin the art. Additional connections and devices may be coupled to and/orpass through the PCB 690 to the package 620 via one or more additionalBGA balls (not illustrated) on the package 620. It will be appreciatedthat the illustrated configuration and descriptions are provided merelyto aid in the explanation of the various aspects disclosed herein. Forexample, the PCB 690 may have more or less metal and insulating layers,there may be multiple lines providing power to the various components,etc. Accordingly, the forgoing illustrative examples and associatedfigures should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosedand claimed herein.

In accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein, at least oneaspect includes a package (e.g., 300) including a first set of pads(e.g., 310) having a first size and a first pitch (e.g., 315). The firstset of pads may be solder mask defined (SMD) pads. The package furtherincludes a second set of pads (e.g., 320) having a second size and asecond pitch (e.g., 325). The second set of pads may be non-solder maskdefined (NSMD) pads. Among the various technical advantages the variousaspects disclosed provide, in at least some aspects, a package withmixed pad size, spacing and/or pitch allows for package performance andreliability, by providing larger pads (e.g., the second set of pads 320)which may be NSMD pads for power and RF analog signals and still havesmaller pads (e.g., first set of pads 310) which may be SMD pads withincreased pad density (e.g., smaller pitch 315) for other signalingwhich is not available in conventional designs.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that there are various methodsfor fabricating the devices disclosed herein. FIG. 7 illustrates aflowchart of a method 700 for fabricating a package (e.g., 300 in FIG.3) in accordance with some examples of the disclosure. As shown in FIG.7, the partial method 700 may begin in block 702 with forming a firstset of pads having a first size and a first pitch, wherein the first setof pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads. The partial method 700 maycontinue in block 704 with forming a second set of pads having a secondsize and a second pitch, wherein the second set of pads are non-soldermask defined (NSMD) pads. Then, optionally, the partial method 700 maycontinue in block 706 with forming a first set of solder resist openingsfor the first set of pads, wherein each of the first set of solderresist openings are smaller than each of the first set of pads. Thepartial method 700 may optionally continue in block 708 with forming asecond set of solder resist openings for the second set of pads, whereineach of the second set of solder resist openings are larger than each ofthe second set of pads. Additionally, as noted above each pad of thesecond set of pads may be larger than each pad of the first set of pads.As discussed in the foregoing, the various sized pads can be formedusing similar fabrication processes and materials. It will beappreciated from the foregoing disclosure that additional processes forfabricating the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and a literal rendition of the processesdiscussed above will not be provided or illustrated in the includeddrawings.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary mobile device in accordance with someexamples of the disclosure. Referring now to FIG. 8, a block diagram ofa mobile device that is configured according to exemplary aspects isdepicted and generally designated mobile device 800. In some aspects,mobile device 800 may be configured as a wireless communication device.As shown, mobile device 800 includes processor 801. Processor 801 isshown to comprise instruction pipeline 812, buffer processing unit (BPU)808, branch instruction queue (BIQ) 811, and throttler 810 as is wellknown in the art. Other well-known details (e.g., counters, entries,confidence fields, weighted sum, comparator, etc.) of these blocks havebeen omitted from this view of processor 801 for the sake of clarity.Processor 801 may be communicatively coupled to memory 832 over a link,which may be a die-to-die or chip-to-chip link. Mobile device 800 alsoincludes display 828 and display controller 826, with display controller826 coupled to processor 801 and to display 828.

In some aspects, FIG. 8 may include coder/decoder (CODEC) 834 (e.g., anaudio and/or voice CODEC) coupled to processor 801; speaker 836 andmicrophone 838 coupled to CODEC 834; and wireless circuit 840, which mayinclude a modem, RF circuitry, filters, etc., which may be implementedusing one or more packages with mixed pads, as disclosed herein. In someaspects, the mixed pad package may be used in RFFE component(s). Thewireless circuit 840 is coupled to wireless antenna 842 and to processor801.

In a particular aspect, where one or more of the above-mentioned blocksare present, processor 801, display controller 826, memory 832, CODEC1234, and wireless circuit 840 can be included in a system-in-package orsystem-on-chip device 822 which may be implemented in whole or partusing the mixed pad package designs disclosed herein. Input device 830(e.g., physical or virtual keyboard), power supply 844 (e.g., battery),display 828, input device 830, speaker 836, microphone 838, wirelessantenna 842, and power supply 844 may be external to system-on-chipdevice 822 and may be coupled to a component of system-on-chip device822, such as an interface or a controller.

It should be noted that although FIG. 8 depicts a mobile device,processor, memory and other components may also be integrated into a settop box, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, anavigation device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a fixed locationdata unit, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a communications device, amobile phone, or other similar devices.

FIG. 9 illustrates various electronic devices that may be integratedwith any of the aforementioned devices or semiconductor devices inaccordance with various examples of the disclosure. For example, amobile phone device 902, a laptop computer device 904, and a fixedlocation terminal device 906 may each be consider generally userequipment (UE) and may include a package 900, including a mixed paddesign as described herein. The package 900 may be, for example, atleast part of any of the integrated circuits, dies, integrated devices,integrated device packages, integrated circuit devices, device packages,integrated circuit (IC) packages, package-on-package devices describedherein. The devices 902, 904, 906 illustrated in FIG. 9 are merelyexemplary. Other electronic devices may also feature the package 900including, but not limited to, a group of devices (e.g., electronicdevices) that includes mobile devices, hand-held personal communicationsystems (PCS) units, portable data units such as personal digitalassistants, global positioning system (GPS) enabled devices, navigationdevices, set top boxes, music players, video players, entertainmentunits, fixed location data units such as meter reading equipment,communications devices, smartphones, tablet computers, computers,wearable devices, servers, routers, electronic devices implemented inautomotive vehicles (e.g., autonomous vehicles), an Internet of things(IoT) device or any other device that stores or retrieves data orcomputer instructions or any combination thereof.

The foregoing disclosed devices and functionalities may be designed andconfigured into computer files (e.g., register-transfer level (RTL),Geometric Data Stream (GDS) Gerber, and the like) stored oncomputer-readable media. Some or all such files may be provided tofabrication handlers who fabricate devices based on such files.Resulting products may include semiconductor wafers that are then cutinto semiconductor die and packaged into an integrated device includingon or more dies and packages (e.g., flip-chip package). The packages maythen be employed in devices described herein.

It will be appreciated that various aspects disclosed herein can bedescribed as functional equivalents to the structures, materials and/ordevices described and/or recognized by those skilled in the art. Forexample, in one aspect, an apparatus may comprise a means for performingthe various functionalities discussed above. It will be appreciated thatthe aforementioned aspects are merely provided as examples and thevarious aspects claimed are not limited to the specific referencesand/or illustrations cited as examples.

One or more of the components, processes, features, and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-9 may be rearranged and/or combined into a singlecomponent, process, feature or function or incorporated in severalcomponents, processes, or functions. Additional elements, components,processes, and/or functions may also be added without departing from thedisclosure. It should also be noted that FIGS. 1-9 and correspondingdescription in the present disclosure are not limited to dies and/orICs. In some implementations, FIGS. 1-9 and its correspondingdescription may be used to manufacture, create, provide, and/or produceintegrated devices. In some implementations, a device may include a die,an integrated device, a die package, an integrated circuit (IC), adevice package, an integrated circuit (IC) package, a wafer, asemiconductor device, a package on package (PoP) device, and/or aninterposer.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (or “UE”), “user device,”“user terminal,” “client device,” “communication device,” “wirelessdevice,” “wireless communications device,” “handheld device,” “mobiledevice,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” “handset,” “accessterminal,” “subscriber device,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriberstation,” “terminal,” and variants thereof may interchangeably refer toany suitable mobile or stationary device that can receive wirelesscommunication and/or navigation signals. These terms include, but arenot limited to, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, anavigation device, a communications device, a smartphone, a personaldigital assistant, a fixed location terminal, a tablet computer, acomputer, a wearable device, a laptop computer, a server, an automotivedevice in an automotive vehicle, and/or other types of portableelectronic devices typically carried by a person and/or havingcommunication capabilities (e.g., wireless, cellular, infrared,short-range radio, etc.). These terms are also intended to includedevices which communicate with another device that can receive wirelesscommunication and/or navigation signals such as by short-range wireless,infrared, wireline connection, or other connection, regardless ofwhether satellite signal reception, assistance data reception, and/orposition-related processing occurs at the device or at the other device.In addition, these terms are intended to include all devices, includingwireless and wireline communication devices, that are able tocommunicate with a core network via a radio access network (RAN), andthrough the core network the UEs can be connected with external networkssuch as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms ofconnecting to the core network and/or the Internet are also possible forthe UEs, such as over a wired access network, a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.) and so on. UEs can beembodied by any of a number of types of devices including but notlimited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices, externalor internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, smartphones, tablets,tracking devices, asset tags, and so on. A communication link throughwhich UEs can send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., areverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel,etc.). A communication link through which the RAN can send signals toUEs is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a pagingchannel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward trafficchannel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can referto either an uplink/reverse or downlink/forward traffic channel.

The wireless communication between electronic devices can be based ondifferent technologies, such as code division multiple access (CDMA),W-CDMA, time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 3GPP Long TermEvolution (LTE), 5G New Radio, Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE), IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), and IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread) or otherprotocols that may be used in a wireless communications network or adata communications network. Bluetooth Low Energy (also known asBluetooth LE, BLE, and Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal areanetwork technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth SpecialInterest Group intended to provide considerably reduced powerconsumption and cost while maintaining a similar communication range.BLE was merged into the main Bluetooth standard in 2010 with theadoption of the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0 and updated inBluetooth 5.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any details described herein as “exemplary”is not to be construed as advantageous over other examples. Likewise,the term “examples” does not mean that all examples include thediscussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. Furthermore, aparticular feature and/or structure can be combined with one or moreother features and/or structures. Moreover, at least a portion of theapparatus described hereby can be configured to perform at least aportion of a method described hereby.

Any reference herein to an element using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not limit the quantity and/or order of thoseelements. Rather, these designations are used as a convenient method ofdistinguishing between two or more elements and/or instances of anelement. Also, unless stated otherwise, a set of elements can compriseone or more elements.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Nothing stated or illustrated depicted in this application is intendedto dedicate any component, action, feature, benefit, advantage, orequivalent to the public, regardless of whether the component, action,feature, benefit, advantage, or the equivalent is recited in the claims.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm actionsdescribed in connection with the examples disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and actions have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

Although some aspects have been described in connection with a device,it goes without saying that these aspects also constitute a descriptionof the corresponding method, and so a block or a component of a deviceshould also be understood as a corresponding method action or as afeature of a method action. Analogously thereto, aspects described inconnection with or as a method action also constitute a description of acorresponding block or detail or feature of a corresponding device. Someor all of the method actions can be performed by a hardware apparatus(or using a hardware apparatus), such as, for example, a microprocessor,a programmable computer or an electronic circuit. In some examples, someor a plurality of the most important method actions can be performed bysuch an apparatus.

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different featuresare grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should notbe understood as an intention that the claimed examples have morefeatures than are explicitly mentioned in each claim. Rather, thevarious aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features ofan individual example disclosed. Therefore, the following claims shouldhereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein eachclaim by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependentclaim can refer in the claims to a specific combination with one of theother claims, the aspect(s) of that dependent claim are not limited tothe specific combination. It will be appreciated that other aspectsdisclosed can also include a combination of the dependent claimaspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent claim orindependent claim or a combination of any feature with other dependentand independent claims. The various aspects disclosed herein expresslyinclude these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can bereadily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (such ascontradictory aspects, where the combination would define an element astwo alternative components, materials, etc.). Furthermore, it is alsointended that aspects of a claim can be included in any otherindependent claim(s), even if the claim is not directly dependent on theindependent claim(s).

For example, further aspects may include one or more of the followingfeatures discussed in the various example aspects. Example aspect 1includes an apparatus comprising a package, the package comprises: afirst set of pads having a first size and a first pitch, wherein thefirst set of pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads; and a second setof pads having a second size and a second pitch, wherein the second setof pads are non-solder mask defined (NSMD) pads.

Example aspect 2, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 1, includes wherein the first set of pads and the second set ofpads are formed in a first metal layer of the apparatus.

Example aspect 3, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 2, includes wherein the apparatus is covered by a solder resistwith openings over the first set of pads and the second set of pads.

Example aspect 4, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 3, further comprises: a first set of solder resist openings forthe first set of pads, wherein each of the first set of solder resistopenings are smaller than each of the first set of pads.

Example aspect 5, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 3 and 4, further comprises: a second set of solder resistopenings for the second set of pads, wherein each of the second set ofsolder resist openings are larger than each of the second set of pads.

Example aspect 6, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 1 to 5, includes wherein the first size of the first set of padsare generally uniform and smaller than the second size of the second setof pads.

Example aspect 7, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 6, includes wherein each of the second set of pads is between 10%and 100% larger than each of the first set of pads.

Example aspect 8, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 1 to 7, includes wherein the first pitch of the first set ofpads are generally uniform and smaller than the second pitch of thesecond set of pads.

Example aspect 9, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 8, includes wherein the second pitch is between 10% and 100%larger than each of the first pitch.

Example aspect 10, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 1 to 10, includes wherein the apparatus is a single sided ballgrid array (BGA) package or a double-sided ball grid array (BGA)package.

Example aspect 11, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 1 to 11, wherein the apparatus selected from the groupconsisting of a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, anavigation device, a communications device, a mobile device, a mobilephone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a fixed locationterminal, a tablet computer, a computer, a wearable device, an Internetof things (IoT) device, a laptop computer, a server, and a device in anautomotive vehicle.

Example aspect 12 includes method for fabricating a package, the methodcomprising: forming a first set of pads having a first size and a firstpitch, wherein the first set of pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads;and forming a second set of pads having a second size and a secondpitch, wherein the second set of pads are non-solder mask defined (NSMD)pads.

Example aspect 13, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 12, includes, wherein the first set of pads and the second set ofpads are formed in a first metal layer of the package.

Example aspect 14, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 12 and 13, includes, wherein the package is covered by a solderresist with openings over the first set of pads and the second set ofpads.

Example aspect 15, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 14, further comprises: forming a first set of solder resistopenings for the first set of pads, wherein each of the first set ofsolder resist openings are smaller than each of the first set of pads.

Example aspect 16, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 14 and 15, further comprises: forming a second set of solderresist openings for the second set of pads, wherein each of the secondset of solder resist openings are larger than each of the second set ofpads.

Example aspect 17, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 12 to 16, includes wherein the first size of the first set ofpads are generally uniform and smaller than the second size of thesecond set of pads.

Example aspect 18, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 17, includes wherein each of the second set of pads is between10% and 100% larger than each of the first set of pads.

Example aspect 19, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 12 to 18, includes wherein the first pitch of the first set ofpads are generally uniform and smaller than the second pitch of thesecond set of pads.

Example aspect 20, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspect 19, includes wherein each of the second pitch is between 10% and100% larger than each of the first pitch.

Example aspect 21, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 12 to 20, includes wherein the package is a single sided ballgrid array (BGA) package or double-sided ball grid array (BGA) package.

Example aspect 21, which may be combined with the foregoing exampleaspects 12 to 21, includes wherein the package is incorporated into anapparatus selected from the group consisting of a music player, a videoplayer, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communicationsdevice, a mobile device, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personaldigital assistant, a fixed location terminal, a tablet computer, acomputer, a wearable device, an Internet of things (IoT) device, alaptop computer, a server, and a device in an automotive vehicle.

Furthermore, in some examples, an individual action can be subdividedinto a plurality of sub-actions or contain a plurality of sub-actions.Such sub-actions can be contained in the disclosure of the individualaction and be part of the disclosure of the individual action.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative examples of thedisclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims. The functions and/or actions of themethod claims in accordance with the examples of the disclosuredescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order.Additionally, well-known elements will not be described in detail or maybe omitted so as to not obscure the relevant details of the aspects andexamples disclosed herein. Furthermore, although elements of thedisclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural iscontemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

1. An apparatus comprising a package, the package comprising: a firstset of pads having a first size and a first pitch, wherein the first setof pads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads; and a second set of padshaving a second size different from the first size and a second pitchdifferent from the first pitch, wherein the second set of pads arenon-solder mask defined (NSMD) pads.
 2. The package of claim 1, whereinthe first set of pads and the second set of pads are formed in a firstmetal layer of the apparatus.
 3. The package of claim 2, wherein theapparatus is covered by a solder resist with openings over the first setof pads and the second set of pads.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, furthercomprising: a first set of solder resist openings for the first set ofpads, wherein each of the first set of solder resist openings aresmaller than each of the first set of pads.
 5. The package of claim 3,further comprising: a second set of solder resist openings for thesecond set of pads, wherein each of the second set of solder resistopenings are larger than each of the second set of pads.
 6. The packageof claim 1, wherein the first size of the first set of pads aregenerally uniform and smaller than the second size of the second set ofpads.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the second set ofpads is between 10% and 100% larger than each of the first set of pads.8. The package of claim 1, wherein the first pitch of the first set ofpads are generally uniform and smaller than the second pitch of thesecond set of pads.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the secondpitch is between 10% and 100% larger than each of the first pitch. 10.The package of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a single sided ballgrid array (BGA) package or a double-sided ball grid array (BGA)package.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus selectedfrom the group consisting of a music player, a video player, anentertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, amobile device, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digitalassistant, a fixed location terminal, a tablet computer, a computer, awearable device, an Internet of things (IoT) device, a laptop computer,a server, and a device in an automotive vehicle.
 12. A method forfabricating a package, the method comprising: forming a first set ofpads having a first size and a first pitch, wherein the first set ofpads are solder mask defined (SMD) pads; and forming a second set ofpads having a second size different from the first size and a secondpitch different from the first pitch, wherein the second set of pads arenon-solder mask defined (NSMD) pads.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe first set of pads and the second set of pads are formed in a firstmetal layer of the package.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thepackage is covered by a solder resist with openings over the first setof pads and the second set of pads.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: forming a first set of solder resist openings for the firstset of pads, wherein each of the first set of solder resist openings aresmaller than each of the first set of pads.
 16. The method of claim 14,further comprising: forming a second set of solder resist openings forthe second set of pads, wherein each of the second set of solder resistopenings are larger than each of the second set of pads.
 17. The methodof claim 12, wherein the first size of the first set of pads aregenerally uniform and smaller than the second size of the second set ofpads.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the second set of padsis between 10% and 100% larger than each of the first set of pads. 19.The method of claim 12, wherein the first pitch of the first set of padsare generally uniform and smaller than the second pitch of the secondset of pads.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the secondpitch is between 10% and 100% larger than each of the first pitch. 21.The method of claim 12, wherein the package is a single sided ball gridarray (BGA) package or a double-sided ball grid array (BGA) package. 22.The method of claim 12, wherein the package is incorporated into anapparatus selected from the group consisting of a music player, a videoplayer, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communicationsdevice, a mobile device, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personaldigital assistant, a fixed location terminal, a tablet computer, acomputer, a wearable device, an Internet of things (IoT) device, alaptop computer, a server, and a device in an automotive vehicle.